When Li Yuhao challenged, the middle-aged agent also laughed, "Hahaha... I see you're buried in money. The government wants the audio source, not the copyright, the singer, or the songwriter. It's still you, Li Yuhao. They want your audio source for propaganda. Isn't the government's free promotion enough to offset the fees you're asking for?"
Li Yuhao scratched his head awkwardly, "Uncle, you should explain clearly. I'm a reasonable person, right? Especially for such a public welfare cause, I absolutely support it. I was just joking earlier. How could I really ask the government for money? Right?"
"Ha~~~ You, you're too shameless. You said earlier that without money, there's no copyright, and now you're acting all righteous. I say, let the company get you some TV dramas to act in. Don't you like Kim Tae-hee? Only by acting in TV dramas will you have the chance to work with her."
Li Yuhao pinched his nose and said, "Kim Tae-hee is a public figure, everyone likes her, okay? Besides, if I take on a TV drama, I'll only do the lead role. Don't come to me for supporting roles; I don't have the time. The time I spend shooting TV dramas might as well be used to write a couple more songs."
"Of course, if the female lead is Kim Tae-hee, I can consider a supporting role. Preferably a role like her ex-boyfriend, with kissing scenes, and the camera should switch to three or four angles during the kiss. Otherwise, forget it." Li Yuhao sat on the stool, imagining the kissing scene with Kim Tae-hee.
The middle-aged agent laughed and gently slapped Li Yuhao to wake him up, "Stop daydreaming."
"What daydreaming, Uncle? This is imagination, okay? Can't I imagine this beautiful fairy tale in my mind? You're such a buzzkill. I'm not talking to you. Let me sleep."
As soon as Li Yuhao finished speaking, the photographer said, "Mr. Li Yuhao, come change into another outfit, we're preparing for the next shoot." Hearing this, Li Yuhao said to the uncle, "Uncle, don't come to disturb my sleep even if the sky falls. And tell the company that the next time, the female lead in my album MV must be Jessica Alba!!"
The middle-aged agent laughed at Li Yuhao's words, "Hahaha... Okay. I'll mention it to the company. You want Jessica Alba to act in your MV, hahaha..."
...
The next day, Li Yuhao had a good sleep without any schedule, waking up naturally. Li Yuhao woke up, reached for his phone under the pillow, and checked the time, "No wonder my stomach is growling, it's already past two." Li Yuhao called his agent, "Uncle, come pick me up."
"You're up? Okay, I'll come pick you up right away."
"Uncle, bring me two pieces of bread when you come, I'm hungry."
Li Yuhao hung up the phone and went to take a shower. After showering, a text message notification 'ding' sounded. Li Yuhao sat on the bed and picked up his phone to read the message, "Pani: Is Li Yuhao free today? I want to meet you."
Now, everyone in South Korea knew Li Yuhao was free. The LOEN website announced, 'Li Yuhao is preparing the audio source for 'Hotel California,' and all his schedules are on hold.'
It had been about a week since the Strong仁 incident. No matter how many apologies the Girls' Generation sent or how many calls they made, Li Yuhao ignored them. Today, Li Yuhao felt it was enough. He finally replied to Pani's message, 'Not free today, I have to work. Let's meet another day.'
Although Li Yuhao's reply was a refusal, Pani was very satisfied. She had been sending messages to Li Yuhao every day, and he hadn't replied until today. Pani smiled and replied, "Oh, I see. I won't disturb your work then."
Li Yuhao saw Pani's message, shook his head, and replied again, "Hmm... I want to eat kimchi fried rice tonight. Remember to add two pieces of pork belly. I'll have my agent pick you up later."
"No need to trouble yourself, I'll come over."
"Come over? The company entrance is full of fans. No one can get in without someone to guide you. Alright, that's it. I need to work."
Li Yuhao finished sending the message and threw his phone on the bed, then went to get dressed. Soon, the middle-aged agent arrived, "Yuhao, I brought you the bread. You don't know, when I got to the company this morning, everyone was asking if you had arrived. I told them you got off work at 4 AM yesterday and were sleeping. The head of the internet department, Mr. Kim, even said to wake you up. I threw your dorm key at him and told him to wake you up himself. You didn't see, he was so angry his face turned black."
Li Yuhao also laughed, "That Mr. Kim is a fool. I don't even bother with him. He thinks I increased their workload by at least ten times after I joined. Before, they were so relaxed. The LOEN website hardly got any traffic, and they did minimal maintenance, just sitting and getting paid. Now, they have to work 24/7, and sometimes he even has to work the night shift. Of course, he's unhappy."
Li Yuhao finished dressing, ate the bread, and went downstairs with the agent to head to the company. In the car, Li Yuhao said, "Uncle, please do me a favor tonight. Go pick up Pani from Girls' Generation and bring her to my studio."
"Okay, give me Pani's phone number later."
After Li Yuhao arrived at the company, he dove into his studio. At the Girls' Generation dorm, Pani, after seeing Li Yuhao's reply, found Taeyeon, "Taeyeon, do we have kimchi and pork belly at home?"
Taeyeon lay on her bed, shaking her legs, "We have kimchi, but no pork belly. Why are you asking?"
"Come with me to the supermarket. Let's buy some meat. I want to make kimchi fried rice."
Hearing Pani say she wanted to make 'kimchi fried rice,' Taeyeon touched Pani's forehead, "You're not feverish, are you? Why are you talking nonsense? Even if you have a sudden urge, you don't have to torture us with 'kimchi fried rice.' I'll cook tonight, don't come into the kitchen and make things worse." Taeyeon then put on her headphones.
Pani yanked off Taeyeon's headphones, "I'm not making it for you. I'm going to see Li Yuhao tonight. He said he wants to eat kimchi fried rice."
"Oh? He's not angry anymore? He replied?"
"Maybe. I'll know when I go over tonight. He's on hold with all his schedules, so he's probably writing songs in the studio."
"Okay, I'll make the kimchi fried rice. I don't want him to be even more angry after eating your cooking."
Pani blushed at Taeyeon's teasing, "I... am I that bad? I can cook fried rice."
"Alright, your fried rice... is on par with Sica's. Li Yuhao might think you're deliberately messing with him. Let's go to the supermarket and buy some pork belly."
In the end, the 'kimchi fried rice' Li Yuhao ordered was made by Taeyeon. Pani packed the rice in a box and smiled at Taeyeon, "Hmm... it tastes good. I'm off, Li Yuhao's agent is here."
"Go on, tell me the result of the apology tonight. And convey our apologies as well."
Pani nodded with a smile, "Got it."
Pani went downstairs and saw a limousine parked at the entrance. The uncle said, "Tiffany, I'm Li Yuhao's agent. Get in the car, I'll take you to our company." Pani nodded, "Thank you."
In the car, Pani asked, "Uncle, has Li Yuhao been very busy lately?"
"Yes... After that incident, Yuhao rested for two days, but the backlog of work was too much. He started working even before his hand healed. He's been working hard. For the past few days, he's worked for 72 hours straight, only taking short naps in the car during trips and during breaks in shooting."
"To be honest, I feel heartache just watching him. Everyone only sees his positive and sunny side, thinking he never gets tired. But they don't know that he endures pain all over his body, never complaining, and continues to work hard and sing with all his heart, just to avoid worrying his fans. He doesn't want the people who love him to be sad for him."
"Under the harsh spotlight, no matter how tired he is, he always greets fans with the warmest smile and waves energetically. When he rests, he's always quiet, sitting alone, listening to others' complaints and misunderstandings, smiling faintly as if he's never been hurt by these words. So, people don't know, they don't know how sensitive and fragile this always sunny boy is. They take it for granted that he's strong and won't get hurt, so they never see his tears or his sorrow."
The middle-aged agent had been with Li Yuhao for over two months, witnessing his busy schedule and his joys and sorrows. In the agent's eyes, Li Yuhao is a kind and sensible child, sometimes a bit mischievous. Working with Li Yuhao, although he's also tired, he feels happy.
Hearing Li Yuhao's agent's heartfelt words, Pani was deeply moved by Li Yuhao's silent dedication.
In Li Yuhao's limousine, the familiar and pleasant scent of Li Yuhao filled the air. Pani sat in the car, feeling Li Yuhao's daily busyness...